Thursday, May 28, 2009

Introducing... Bench Dog Design

We are pleased to announce our latest venture...

Bench Dog Design is a custom furniture design + fabrication shop located in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly. The mission of our shop, stated above with logo, continues the legacy of quality design and sustainable practices set forth in the Montrose project but at the smaller scale of uniquely crafted works of art. Bench Dog is a partnership between the members of Southern Liberties, LLC (Christopher + Emily Stromberg) and our good friends and longtime collaborators David Quadrini and Jenny Yip. We have opened up a full-scale wood shop (actually located within a large metal shop) and will be building prototypes as well as commissioned pieces including dining room tables, coffee tables, shelving units, benches, built-ins, etc. We are also planning a line modern, efficient, multi-functional children's furniture this fall.

And we have good news... We recently completed our first commission: a dining/conference room table for the 100K House, located just around the corner from our shop. The good folks at Post Green offered us the opportunity to design and build a table for them using recycled steel and reclaimed timbers (a couple of which were actually from the Montrose house), and we jumped at the chance. With such similar philosophies of sustainable design, the collaboration made perfect sense. Check out the great blog post they did about the table. We were able to finish it by their ribbon cutting ceremony on 03/31 and it appeared to be a big hit.

Please check our website...and make sure you go to the Flickr site to see all the photos. We recently had a good friend take some professional photos of the table which will soon be up on our website. If you or anyone you know is interested in a custom-designed piece of furniture made from local reclaimed timbers...give us a call!

This blog documents the renovation of our personal residence, a 100-yr. old rowhouse in Philadelphia. We learned so much along the way that we wanted to share our experience and research with others.

We'd love to hear from you. Contact us at info[at]solibs.com or visit our company website: solibs.com.

Photos of the house

Project Specs

The original two-story house was 900 SF without a functional kitchen, plumbing that barely worked, and significant roof damage. It was essentially a liveable shell, but it had solid bones and plenty of potential.

We gutted the entire house while salvaging & recycling as much as possible along the way. By adding a third floor and extending the house at the rear, we'll ultimately have 1,850 SF with 3 BR/2.5 BA/Study, as well as a full unfinished basement for storage.

The project is currently registered with the USGBC and is pursuing LEED for Homes Platinum certification.To see Floor Plansand Elevations of the project, see the Wednesday, May 7th blog post.

We have successfully installed a stormwater planter in front of Montrose Green. And what exactly is a "stormwater planter", you as...

Bench Dog Design

Bench Dog Design is the creative team behind the design & fabrication of several key features of Montrose Green including the stair treads, bartop, vanity cabinet, wall surfacing, outdoor bench, and roof access ladder. All of these elements were made from locally salvaged wood and fabricated in Bench Dog's own Philadelphia workshop.

Open House Party - 7/11

A big thank you to the nearly 300 people who joined us on 7/11 to tour the house! For those who missed the big event, check out the upcoming Open House schedule above. Click the image above to see a slideshow of photos from the party!